Lucknow: A school bus driver and his associate have been arrested for allegedly killing a teacher couple in Sultanpur after the woman reportedly caught them stealing from a school office, police said on Monday. A third suspect is absconding.Sultanpur SP Vineet Jaiswal said Rakesh Kumar Yadav (36), a bus driver, also worked as a computer teacher at the couple’s institution while Ashish alias W (26) was the victims’ neighbour and relative.The victims were identified as Mukesh Singh (45), a teacher at a composite school in Khanuhat and president of the block teachers’ association, and his wife Vinita Singh (43), who ran Manraji Educational Institution in Kumbhi Dadiya village. The couple’s bodies were found at different places on the school premises.Police said the accused planned the theft because Yadav was facing financial difficulties and, as an employee, knew the layout of the office, including cupboards and surveillance arrangements. Police alleged that the men entered the premises on the night of Sept 28 and searched for the key to an office locker.According to the police account, Vinita spotted Yadav during the attempted theft and confronted him. He allegedly asked her to stay quiet and promised he would not repeat the act, but she raised an alarm and called her husband. Fearing exposure, the accused allegedly attacked Vinita with a spade. When Mukesh tried to flee, police said, the men chased him and struck him with an axe, killing him.Police said the assailants fled with ₹34,960 in cash, Vinita’s mobile phone and her Aadhaar card. Investigators said the case progressed after a slipper recovered from the scene resembled footwear worn by Yadav. Police also found that the school’s CCTV cameras had stopped working four days before the killings and that the DVR had been damaged. Call records and mobile location data allegedly placed Yadav at the school and showed contact with his associates, police said, adding that he initially tried to mislead investigators.Police said they recovered a bloodstained spade and axe, the cash allegedly stolen, Vinita’s Aadhaar card and clothes the accused allegedly wore during the incident. Vinita’s phone was allegedly thrown into a well, police said.
